[jqpabc123]

The war was lost from the start.

Bitcoin is simply not suited to be a widely used "currency".

This is why despite almost 2 decades of promotion and effort, you still can't easily buy food with bitcoin.

Bitcoin is the ultimate "sucker" play. It's wooden nickels minus the wood. It only exits to embody the hope of finding a bigger sucker.

[jfengel]

They're more "collectable" than wooden nickels. The world is full of bits of claptrap that nobody actually wants for itself, but nonetheless are proud to own.

I'd say they're closer to baseball cards. You can't buy anything with a baseball card, and I doubt anybody actually looks at theirs, but there's nonetheless a thriving market for them.

I suppose some government could decide to monetize baseball cards, and the coin advocates seem certain that the US government is about to start letting you pay your taxes in bitcoins. They might even be right about that.

[bediger4000]

With all due respect, isn't Bitcoin useful for paying ransomware ransoms, buying illegal guns and drugs, eluding sanctions, and settling debts with other multinational crime organizations? Are cartels the biggest suckers? Respectfully, I hope not!

[jqpabc123]

Wooden nickels were useful for paying too -- if you could find a sucker willing to accept them. Doesn't change the fact that they were essentially worthless.

Criminals are all about taking advantage of people --- at high risk.

They accept the risk (and cost) of using bitcoin in their niche only as long as they remain confident that suckers will trade real usable currency for them.

They undoubtedly make this trade at the earliest opportunity.

[machardMAXHARD]

ye i know i've been signaling them for over 8 months to migrate, i think they are doing it

[andirk]

Its original intention of being a way of moving value easily including small amount has not panned out, it does not negate that it has matured in to a digital gold.

Or just say you heard about it early and regret not grabbing a few wooden nickels.

[jqpabc123]

it does not negate that it has matured in to a digital gold.

Even as "digital gold", Bitcoin is inferior to the real thing in many ways.

For investment purposes, real gold has been fully "digitized" as well.

You can easily buy, hold and sell it electronically without ever taking physical delivery. And typically with better security and lower overall transaction fees than with Bitcoin. For example, see "GLD".

And real gold does have some practical utility --- beyond just hope for more, bigger suckers to drive the price up.

Let's face the facts; outside of criminal activity, Bitcoin is mostly a pure sucker play. And the typical sucker is either a gambler or someone with limited grasp of existing financial instruments and alternatives. This is not to suggest that there aren't large numbers of these people out there.